Oral Manifestations in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Chronic Renal Failure Patients on Hemodialysis

Introduction: Oral cavity reflects the general health status of an individual. Diagnosing and treating oral manifestations of systemic disease pose a greater challenge to oral physician. Chronic renal failure (CRF) is one such disease that demonstrates a complex set of oral findings due to disease itself and also due to treatment like hemodialysis- Diabetes, the most common cause of CRF also affects oral health. An attempt is made in this study to evaluate and compare oral health status of diabetic and nondiabetic CRF patients who were on maintenance hemodialysis Materials and methods: Study was done on 106 CRF patients who were on hemodialysis. Patients were divided into diabetic (55 patients) and nondiabetic (51 patients) group based on their blood sugar level Patients of both groups were examined for predialytic salivary pH, decayed, missing, filled teeth. periodontal condition and mucosal lesions. Results: Salivary pH in diabetic group was less when compared to nondiabetic group (p < 0.001). Diabetic group had higher caries prevalence (p < 0.001) and periodontal disease compared to nondiabetics. Conclusion: Study revealed decrease in salivary pH and increased prevalence of caries and periodontal disease in diabetic group. Differences in oral manifestations were also noticed between diabetic and nondiabetic uremic patients.